Shenmue I and II are officially being remastered for consoles and PC

Being a millennial gamer, I never got to experience the eclectic greatness of the Shenmue franchise on the Dreamcast. Actually, that’s a lie. I did play the first one for about 30 minutes on a janky DreamCast emulator on my trash PC until I decided to “get back to it later” and never did. This strange little gem that became a cult hit back in the year 2000 was lost to me, but I couldn’t help to think that a modern remaster, preferably with the second game also included, would have kept my attention for a little longer. SEGA has delivered.

Shenmue I & II is officially releasing on PS4, Xbox One and PC in full remastered glory. Not remakes, mind you. We’ll experience the strange visuals and wacky voice acting just like God and Yu Suzuki intended. This is the perfect time for this remaster to exist because during the 2015 PS4 press conference where everyone went crazy for the Shenmue III announcement, many people were left confused by what this series is and some of the old fans have already tragically let go of their Dreamcast’s. For the third game to carry any weight, we need a little refresher.

For those that don’t know the series, this will be the perfect jumping in point and further good news is that this two-game bundle will be relatively cheap, only costing $29.99 in America. It wasn’t clear when exactly in 2018 this will be releasing, but it should most likely be soon.